It looks like we don't have any summaries for this title yet. Be the first to contribute.
Learn more- After auditions in six cities, the "best of the best" made it to Las Vegas for the next round of the competition to determine the Top 20 dancers in America on "So You Think You Can Dance?"
There were 172 dancers at the start of the night, but host Cat Deeley promised the challenges would get tougher and the judges would be harsher in their quest to find their finalists for Season 5.
They pulled out all the stops even at the judges' table, where Mia Michaels, Lil C, Adam Shankman and Debbie Allen all joined regular judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy.
Each dancer would perform a solo to start the Vegas round, and Alex Wong from the Miami auditions went first, offering a contemporary style with a bit of a martial arts twist at times. Mia looked on adoringly and gave a notable "Wow" as she watched. The judges would give no comments after the solos.
Tony Bellissimo made his mark, bringing along various portraits of Nigel during a gimmick-heavy dance in which he dressed as a businessman heading to work. He had Nigel's photo in his newspaper, in his briefcase and in his coat.
A quick montage rounded up some of the more acrobatic moves of the solo round before Nigel called all the dancers to the stage and told them they weren't as good as the judges thought they were in the first auditions. He said some of them would be going home immediately and began calling them to the front of the stage. If any of the six judges wanted to keep a dancer, they could stay. But a unanimous no meant their journey was over.
In total, 45 dancers were sent home after the solos, including a couple of early favorites: the football coach's son Travis Prokop, widow Thalia Rickards, and hip-hopper Chimezie Nwosu.
Napoleon & Tabitha D'Umo were on hand to choreograph a hop hop routine for the remaining the dancers. Contemporary dancer Gabi Rojas was worried the choreography was too fast for her. She was a favorite of Nigel's early on. She definitely struggled and lost her place in the routine.
Mia made an ominous statement, saying, "I love cutting. Because I like to see people that aren't good at what they do go home."
Gabi stepped up and was saved only because of her "unique" solo, according to Nigel. "You have to be good at more things than just what you do," he added.
By the end of the hip hop routine, 37 more dancers were leaving Las Vegas. Only 96 dancers remained.
Day 2: First up the morning of Day 2 was a waltz choreographed by Jean Marc Genereaux and France Mousseau.
Popper Phillip Chbeeb and his partner from the L.A. audition, Arielle Coker, were split up for the waltz, and for the rest of the competition. Phillip made it through but Arielle did not.
Popper Nobuya Nagahama was having the time of his life in Vegas, but was going to be out of his element with the waltz. The judges were very impressed with him. Afterward, he cried as he talked about taking dance classes between the first and second audition, and he gave credit to his teachers for his success. "It's all to them," he said. "I couldn't make it by myself."
Choreographer Sonja Tayeh put together a jazzy routine for the remaining dancers, which Natalie Reid and Brandon Bryant nailed in rehearsal. Sonja even pulled them out to show the rest of the group how to do it. But when it came time to do the routine for the judges, Natalie was off. Mary told her the judges couldn't continue to pull for her, and they sent her home. She was crushed, but smiled the whole time. The other dancers noted that if Natalie could go home, anyone could go.
Brandon went up with the next group and Lil C and Mia both told him they were disappointed after all the hype they'd heard about him. Nigel stood up for him and said he was probably one of the best dancers they've ever had in the competition. He was safe.
The jazz group was on a roll, but Gabi Rojas was still shaky when it came time for her to perform. Lil C just repeated, "She's bad," while Mia responded, "How can she be so bad?" Nigel even gave up, muttering, "Damn, my favorite unique dancer is not good." Debbie spoke for the group and said, "Gabi, you're breaking my heart," and called her "a disappointment." Gabi was asked to dance for her life and if three judges gave her a nod, she could stay. As she danced her own solo, the judges asked each other, "Now, where was that?" They all gave her their approval, but they warned her that she had to do that well on other styles.
The remaining 73 contestants might have thought they were headed to bed at 8 p.m., but Cat said, "They were in for a shock." She broke them into groups and the groups had to randomly select a CD, choreograph a routine and perform it first thing the next morning.
Day 3: On little or no sleep, the dancers returned to the theater at 7 a.m. beaming with confidence. Nigel warned them that even though the group round can be fun and light, there could be cuts if dancers weren't up to snuff.
Tapper Erik "Silky" Moore was worried about his group. It was a jive tune that resulted in a "horrific" dance, according to Nigel. Debbie said there was "just a lack of rhythm." The group was a mess and three of the five were cut immediately, but Erik was asked to return later and dance for his life.
Brandon Bryant came back with his group and even though the routine wasn't great, Adam noted that at least they looked like they were "fighting for something."
Jokester and dancer Ryan Kasprzak and his group choreographed a routine that made Adam cry. He said it made him miss dancing. "I'm starting to see a season about to happen," Adam said. The whole group made it through.
Erik was back to tap dance for his life. He did a smooth bit that ended with a dramatic backflip onto his chest and stomach. Mia, Nigel and Debbie voted against keeping him around. Lil C was the next to vote, and he said, "You don't have my vote."
At the end of a tiring day, the dancers were faced with a contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels. Tony Bellissimo was nervous after having breezed through the earlier rounds. Mary told him his dancing was "not good enough," and invited him to dance for his life by repeating the choreography -- an odd move.
A brief montage included Nobuya Nagahama going home -- but he vowed to return "next year." (Someone should tell him the show is returning in the fall).
The Kinney sisters, Megan and Caitlin, were split into separate groups. Megan got through, but said she couldn't relax until she knew what was going to happen with Caitlin, who was lacking confidence. Caitlin missed some steps and Mary quietly said she was "so disappointed" in her. Caitlin didn't get enough votes, but was asked to dance for her life immediately. Well, after a commercial break.
Caitlin appeared to be "falling apart," as Mary said, before starting her solo. But Caitlin pulled it together for what Debbie called a "beautiful" dance. Nigel said it was "old-fashioned," but he gave her a positive vote. Debbie agreed. Mia voted against Caitlin, as did Lil C and Adam. It was down to Mary, who voted for Caitlin, who she called a "fighter" with potential.
Another pair of siblings, the Kasprzak brothers, were hoping to stick together, as well. Ryan was the first to do Mia's routine. Mary said he "nailed it," and told him he was still in it. Next up was his younger brother Evan. Mia made him do flea hops all the way around and off the stage -- he was safe. Evan flea-hopped all the way into his brother's arms and they hugged.
Tony Bellissimo was back with the final group to try the choreography again. After a second chance, Tony made it through to the next round. He cried immediately on stage and they all were about to be moved to tears by his reaction.
Day 4: The remaining 54 dancers were faced with Broadway in Vegas as Tyce D'Orio arrived to choreograph a girls' routine and a guys' routine.
The girls danced first while the guys played around at the pool. Bianca Revels impressed Nigel with her newfound long legs. But she wasn't through just yet. The judges wouldn't make any decisions until all the girls had danced. Nigel eventually called up a group of girls, which included Bianca, and told them their road had ended. Bianca later said she would not return for another season.
In another harsh round of cuts, Megan Kinney, Gabi Rojas and Priscilla Marrero were among those going home.
Nigel called the remaining girls to the stage. There were 16 of them. Just six more would be cut before the Top 10 girls were determined. They would each get one more solo to impress the judges.
The girls hit the pool while the guys went back in to learn the Broadway routine. The Kasprzak Brothers were feeling confident, given their Broadway backgrounds.
Another group of six guys to the stage and sent them home, leaving 16 guys to vie for the final 10 spots.
We'll have to wait until Thursday night to find out who the judges have picked for the final 20.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content